we don't argue much. we really don't. meg usually just gets her way and i go along with it. i think it worked for matt because i did it for him. when i'm the one cooking, i'm the one calculating the points. i can microwave things. you get to eat real food. we still get to go out. we're just so much smarter about it. we can keep each other in check. going ok i see you. we've lost about 110 lbs together. it helped our love life. happy wife happy life... right. right... [ female announcer ] weight watchers online. the power of weight watchers completely online. join for free. hurry. offer ends march 16th.

from capital one... boris earns unlimited rewards for his small business. can i get the smith contract, please? thank you. that's three new paper shredders. [ boris ] put 'em on my spark card. [ garth ] boris' small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase every day. great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. read back the chicken's testimony, please. "buk, buk, bukka!" [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase every day. told you i'd get half. what's in your wallet? time to talk about what we learned today. mike, what did you learn? >> not too many places you can

show up and talk to brian kelly, head coach of notre dame, the budget committee. me and mike bloomberg, and rita moreno. >> not too many places. >> that's a good day. what did you learn, mika? >> i'll continue to say that mayor bloomberg's on to something. everyone else is going to catch on a little late. >> if it's way too early, it's "morning joe." here's chuck todd. see you tomorrow. well, the budgets are busting out everywhere. today it's the senate democrat's turn, but today it's house republican's turn to hear from the president. what will paul ryan and speaker boehner have to say after that? we'll see. plus, with a new era starting in venezuela and anened to the castro's control of cuba on the horizon, will the united states actually have a president who decides to engage in latin american issues? every one of them promises it, but none of them seem to fulfill it. much more in today's deep dive.

and the cardinals are meeting again later today. could we see some white smoke today? we'll go live to the vatican in a few minutes. good morning from washington. it's wednesday, march 13th, 2013. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. i want to say good morning myself today to remind you to send your good morning video to rundown.msnbc.com. tomorrow it could be you. remember to get the date right. you can just say, with a couple of submissions that sort of messed up the date and the day of the week. let's get right to my first read of the morning. today, senate democrats formally unveil their 2014 budget for all the happy talk and goodwill of last week, it's clear house republicans and senate democrats have decided to lead with their worst budget offers first. the question is, are the two sides so far apart, that they eventually can't make a deal? or are they simply too very political documents meant to simply with an opening offer to please those vote tracking

people? the senate democratic budget that committee chairman patty murray will unveil today shaves about $1.85 trillion off the deficit over the next decade. it does so by raising nearly $1 trillion in new tax revenue, by cutting tax expenditures, and closing loopholes in the tax code and cutting $733 billion in spending. the remainder of the package is made up of savings on interest payments. murray's budget includes $275 billion in some health care cuts, less than the $400 billion the president previously put on the table and what he talked about in the state of the union. it includes $240 billion in defense cuts. senate democrats also propose $100 billion on new stimulus spending on infrastructure projects. the budget includes no change to social security. the president reportedly faced some skepticism yesterday when he spoke to senate democrats about potential plans to switch to a, quote, chained cpi, which could lower the rate at which

social security benefits are increased and cut the cost of the program in the long run. this morning, the liberal "huffington post" has a banner headline quoting senator tom harkin. quote, he said he hopes we reach some grand bargain. but what is in that grand bargain? murray defended democrats against charges they're not willing to tackle entitlements, including the eligibility ages for social security and medicare. >> my dad had multiple sclerosis. he and my mom literally crawled to the age of 65 to make sure they had the health care they need. i think that is, in the short run, maybe a punchy phrase, that the republicans like to put out, but it is not a way to strengthen medicare in the long run. >> the bottom line, is murray putting out a budget which can get not 51 votes, but 51 democratic votes? think about that fact. on the other side of capitol hill on tuesday, house budget chairman paul ryan released a budget that he believes can get 218 republican votes, and that's it. >> the election didn't go our

way. believe me, i know what that feels like. that means we surrender our principles? that means we stop believing in what we believe in? we need to put out our vision. we think we owe the country a balanced budget. >> remember, ryan's budget cuts $4.6 trillion in spending, including $2.7 trillion in health care cuts, produces no new tax revenue. but ryan also has acknowledged, this is not where the two parties are likely to end up. >> just ask a person who's watching this show, who's in business, do you start with your last offer first in a negotiation? no, of course not. we each pass our budgets, which is very important, because it creates a vehicle that we can go to conference with. so we actually have the budget process being a revived. then we start talking. then we start looking for common ground. i don't think patty's budget gives a lot of troroom for look for that common ground, but this is where the president can get

engaged. >> so sort of an acknowledgement by paul ryan that his budget is not a serious offer. so we just split the difference. we're talking $2.8 trillion in spending cuts, $500 billion in new tax revenue. i thi neither one of those sound very likely. is this really something that's going to go to conference on each side? it's as if nothing happened since the debt ceiling debacle of july 2011. neither budget seems to reflect the reality of where things are in d.c. these budgets were created solely, solely for interest groups who keep score to decide who is a real democrat and a real republican. these budgets were not even designed to start the conversation on the grand bargain. this was, maybe one baby step forward, and everybody proposed a budget, but it's three steps back. so the question is whether the two parties can bridge this wide divide and tackle serious

entitlement and tax reform. this is where the president may or may not decide to fill the vacuum. in an interview with abc news, the president said it's possible nothing will happen. >> right now, what i'm trying to do is create an atmosphere where democrats and republicans can go ahead, get together, and try to get something done. but ultimately, it may be that the differences are just too wide. >> interesting to see, when the president releases his budget, senate democrats were much further, perhaps, to the left, than maybe some people expected. does that mean the president comes to the right and we start seeing real negotiations happen? today will be something of a whiplash day, by the way. president obama's so-called charm offensive continues as he meets on capitol hill with house republicans this afternoon. it's his first meeting with the full republican conference since june of 2011. then at night, he'll meet, in person, with his political organization, organizing for action for the first time. what will the tone be when the president talks to house

republicans? over the last 24 hours, the cordiality of the last week kind of turned to sniping again. >> we're not going to balance the budget in ten years, because if you look at what paul ryan does to balance the budget, it means that you have to voucherize medicare. you have to slash, deeply, into programs like medicaid. my goal is not to chase a balanced budget just for the sake of balance. my goal is, how do we grow the economy, put people back to work. >> paul ryan responded by mocking the the idea of a charm offensive. >> that didn't sound too charming to me, i guess i would say. it didn't come across as terribly charming to me. but, you know, look, we're used to this. >> democrats spent the day trying to point out the flaws in ryan's budget math, which depends on savings from higher taxes in the fiscal cliff deal, closing unspecified tax loopholes, and also counts

savings from the president's health care plan, which ryan continues to promise that he wants to repeal. >> it's creative at best and fraudulent at worst. >> it's a hoax. it's totally phony to say, in the same breath, that they've presented a balanced budget and that they are repealing obama care. the math doesn't add up. >> and in an interview with cnbc's larry kudlow, ryan appeared to admit that he is depending on health care reform to achieve his balance. >> the likelihood of getting repeal this year is very, very, very low. does it blow a hole in your ten-year budget? >> sure it blows a hole in your budget. because it calls for continuing the spending. but what is a budget? a budget is our vision for how we should fix this country's fiscal problems. and a key part of that vision is we don't take over, have a government takeover of health care. >> somewhat accidental straight talk there, that the budget is

not actually a framework to do anything. it's a vision, it's a political document. the charm offensive of the last week has also not cured gridlock and partisanship in washington. just consider what happened yesterday. republican senators john mccain and tom coburn, both of whom dined with obama last week, stalled the senate legislation to keep the government operating past march 27th. and we're hearing griping from the white house. that senior official who anonymously told the "national journal," quote, this is a joke, we're wasting the president's time and ours. i hope you all in the media are happy, because we're doing it for you. here's the facts on this. there is certainly a faction in the west wing who believes this trust has eroded, that the question is, does the president believe what that person believes. the fact is, there are some, frankly, who have ptsd-like syndrome when it comes to the act, when it comes to these budget talks, because we've been there a long time. it's the new fresh faces that seem to be taking the outreach idea seriously. the bottom line, gridlock is hurting the president's numbers.

in a new abc/"washington post" poll, the president's advantage on handling republicans has dropped from four points, down from an 18-point advantage over congressional republicans in december. while his job approval rating stands at 50%, that's down five points in this poll, although that poll seemed to have it a little bit inflated at the time they came out. one piece of news this morning out of that abc interview, the president defended the administration for canceling white house tours, but then suggested that a change could be coming. >> this was not a decision that went up to the white house, but what the secret service explained to us was that they're going to have to furlough some folks. what i'm asking them is, are there ways, for example, for us to accommodate school groups, who may have traveled here with some bake sales. can we make sure that kids, potentially, can still come to tour? >> all right. so, students get it, nobody else. all right. black smoke over the vatican. no, it's is not smog from rome.

after a single vote on tuesday and two more this morning, the cardinal electors have failed to reach a two-thirds majority as they try to choose the next pope. msnbc's chris jansing is live for us from the vatican with more. so, our man down there with you, giving you the play-by-play. george weigel seems to say that the longer this goes without a pope, the less likely the front-runner, cardinal scola, is to getting the job. >> reporter: that is the conventional wisdom, chuck. and i think that means that we still have to wait probably through several more votes, at least this afternoon and tomorrow morning. and if no one is elected pope, then people will start to think, well, maybe there are some divisions and they need to go to the alternative candidate. that alternative candidate could be good news if you're rooting for an american pope. and i can tell you, just being around rome, that certainly the tourism industry here is rooting for an american pope, because they think it will be money in their pockets. now, right here in rome, it's a

little bit after 2:00 in the afternoon. they are not in conclave session, but it's actually, arguably, a more important time, because during the conclave, they don't talk. they just vote. they just had lunch, and now is a time for them to be exchanging ideas. they have a little understanding now of where the vote is going. if front-runners truly are emerging, these alliances sometimes reform at this point in the game. so the actual business of electing a pope is very seriously, probably happening right now, unless some of them are in reposo, which is the little naptime that is so popular here in italy, chuck. >> well, i wish we had that tradition of reposo here in the united states. but chris, very quickly, the sense of urgency, we in our 24/7 media culture are sitting there, going, oh, my god, three votes and they don't have a pope. do thecardinals feel this? at what point do they start

feeling that urgency? >> reporter: well, they felt urgent to get in there and get started. at this point, i don't think they're feeling urgent to get it done. they know it's a process. the last nine conclaves have averaged a little over three dies and we're only about, well, not even a full 24 hours into this. but, remember, while we're on pins and needles and we know, we're seeing the pictures of the huge crowds out there, the last two days, they were standing in a pouring rain. they don't see any of that. they're essentially in a blackout. they're living in their own world. that's what this form of sequestration really is. and, so, i think it's very early for them to be feeling the pressure. if we start to get near holy week, then, if this conclave goes a full week, i think they might start to feel it, but certainly, it's way too early for that. it's we in the media and folks who are standing out in the cold and the rain who are probably feeling the pressure. >> all right. chris jansing, we will have so much more from you in about 47

minutes. thanks very much. still ahead, much more on the budget budging. we'll have texas democrat pete guyago. what would he like to see happen on immigration? plus, could a brazilian pope help strengthen u.s. ties to latin america? a deep dive into that possibility and what the changing political landscape in latin america holds after decades of sort of cold war-style american treatment of the political situation down there. but first, a look ahead at today's politics planner. you know a lot about what the president's up to today. a meeting with business leaders, talking about immigration. they want to make the case that they're doing other issues, besides the budget. not sure the public is hearing anything other than the budget. you're watching "the daily rundown," only on msnbc. [ tylenol bottle ] nyquil what are you doing?

[ nyquil bottle ] just reading your label. wait...you relieve nasal congestion? sure don't you? [ nyquil bottle ] dude! [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. ♪ so today, i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder symptoms. [ female announcer ] know that gotta go feeling? ask your doctor about prescription toviaz.

one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents, for 24 hours. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma, or can not empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. get emergency medical help right away if your face, lips, throat or tongue swells. toviaz can cause blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness and decreased sweating. do not drive, operate machinery or do unsafe tasks until you know how toviaz affects you. the most common side effects are dry mouth and constipation. talk to your doctor about toviaz.

today's edition of meet the new member series, it's a district that could be a blueprint for what democrats hope will happen to the rest of texas. democratic congressman pete gallego won the 23rd district in 2012, turning it back to blue after a tea party candidate had turned it to red in 2010. born and raised in texas, gallego graduated in three years. after law school, he ran for the state house at age 28, more than 20 years after running his first race, gallego decided to run for congress, edging out a former democrat and former five-term

democrat in the primary. he went on to beat francisco canseco in a tough general election, focusing on his roots during the campaign. here's a clip. >> as a young latino, he wasn't even allowed to start school until he was 10 years old, but he graduated from college and he won a small business and he pushed his family into the middle class. his sacrifices made sure that my life would be better than his. >> well, joining me now is texas democratic congressman, pete guy y gallego from the only swing district in the state of texas. the only one that is a truly 50/50 district. >> it is the only swing district. >> so coming from a swing district, that means to get 50% plus one, you have to win over more than just democrats. what does that mean on these budget issues? >> as an example, ted cruz carried the $23rd by about six points, i carried it by five. >> there were voters who voted

cruz and then voted for you. >> governor romney carried it. you know, what it means, i think, is that i have to work very hard to kind of find the truth, somewhere in the middle. the difference between the ryan budget, you know, i saw how you averaged them out. i don't know that that actually -- >> no, it wouldn't. that's what i mean. if you tried to split the middle ground and you realize, oh, wow, neither side could stomach that, right? >> i think that's exactly right. but there's a way out of this. i just think reasonable minds have to prevail and people have to actually come to a meeting of the minds. you know, frankly, there's something to be said for being nice to each other and being civil to each other, over a prolonged period of time, instead of just for a, you know, minutes of every month. >> so what you're saying is this week, okay, the president did his outreach last week, doing some this week, but you look and these two opening budget offers, neither one look like political reality and if you split the

difference, it's not political reality. what does the next six months look like? >> i don't think they're intended to be political reality, which is unfortunate. because the budget document, in a family, a budget document isn't a statement of -- >> vision. >> of vision. a budget document is what you're actually hoping to spend over a period of time. so i think the next six months, frankly, a very difficult. being in congress has been a fascinating job, but it's also been incredibly frustrating, because of the fact that people are so intransigent, they're so set in their ways. but i think over a period of time, i'm really excited about the 70 or so new members of congress, who i think we understand that we got elected, because people are tired of the gridlock. so over time, i think we're going of an impact, both on the democratic side and on the republican side. >> how have you tried? i keep hearing this, that this new freshman class, which was about 45 democrats, 35 republicans. so there was a little more -- but fairly evenly divided, that you guys -- you spent a lot of time with these folks, with the other, with these house republican freshman?

>> you know, coming from texas, i started in the chamber with a democratic majority and a republican majority and relationships were very much the same. and i think we're trying to do that here in d.c., in terms of getting along, knowing each other, knowing each other's issues. and not -- we might question each other's decisions in terms of differing on the issues, but we don't question each other's patriotism, as an example, we respect each other's backgrounds, and we respect the need for diversity of opinion and diversity of thought. >> is the texas legislature led in the way the leadership is done, is it as polarizing as it is here? >> well, i was a committee chair when the republicans were in the majority. i was a committee chair when the democrats were in the majority. and so, the truth is that there's an effort to meet somewhere in the middle. you don't always get what you want -- the majority here drives the train. it almost seems like everybody else is nearly just along for the ride, which is unfortunate, because i think that there has to be a serious effort to

respect the wishes of the voters. i mean, every voter, in every won of those 435 congressional districts deserves a voice and i think every member is entitled to a certain opportunity to participate in the process. it's not -- i've noticed, congress is not, per se, a democracy in and of itself. if it is, it's a very controlled democracy. >> well, you want to say it's not a democracy. what do you mean by that? just the way top-down leadership -- >> absolutely. nothing gets on the floor unless the majority leadership allows it on the floor. so you don't have an opportunity, for people like me who object to the sequester, who would actually like to do something about a sequester, as an example, we don't get an opportunity to vote or offer ideas on the sequester, because nothing ever gets to the floor. nobody ever has an opportunity to vote on those ideas. >> a quick texas political question. texas democrats, when will the next time -- how soon before they win a statewide office? investigator the idea of becoming -- getting a governor, getting a senator. any statewide office. do you think that 2014 is the

year? >> when rick perry started and kay bailey started, and they were the first republicans who broke through at a lower level, an ag commissioner and treasurer, i think that happens probably in the next, within the next four-year cycle. you'll see republicans start to break in. >> and that's when you'll start to believe it's a state that's maybe competitive? >> i think we're building on that now. frankly, there were 75 democrats in the state house and 76 republicans in the state house, only a couple years ago. not very long ago. so there's an opportunity for balance there. we just to work for it. and frankly, our issue is turnout. if we could just get people to turn out to vote, it would be a very balanced state. >> very interesting. pete gallego, a new representative from the state of texas, the only swing district in the state of text, which is just unbelievable. up next, another bush jumps in, speaking of texas. and still ahead, what does the death of hugo chavez really mean for the united states? we'll take a deep dive and see

how a new landscape in latin america could present new opportunities for president obama if he chooses to take them. but first, today's trivia question. which president's only international trip was to a latin american country? first person to tweet the correct answer @chucktodd and @dailyrundown will get the on-air shout-out. the answer and more is coming up on "the daily rundown." my mother made the best toffee in the world. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.

and make your business dream a reality. at tyco integrated security, we consider ourselves business optihow?rs. by building custom security solutions that integrate video, access control, fire and intrusion protection. all backed up with world-class monitoring centers, thousands of qualified technicians, and a personal passion to help protect your business. when your business is optimized like that, there's no stopping you. we are tyco integrated security. and we are sharper. as well as they could because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn-- our fastest way to return your car. just note your mileage and zap ! you're outta there ! we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

i have a crowded radar this morning. won't be three's company in the virginia's race for governor. let's go to a little breaking news out of the state of florida. lieutenant governor jennifer carroll has abruptly resigned. the resignation comes two days after law enforcement officials interviewed her about her connection with allied veterans of the world. it's a nonprofit that operates

internet cafes in florida. officials from allied veterans of the world were arrested for racketeering charges. carroll turned her resignation into governor rick scott earlier today, but gave no details as to why she made the decision. a statement said it had to do with the fallout from the allied veterans allegation. allied veterans are accused of money laundering, using money from a nonprofit for personal gain, and misrepresenting the amount of money donated to charities. george p. bush, the son of former florida governor, jeb bush, officially announced he would run for the republican nomination to be the texas land commissioner in 2014. bush, who currently managing an investment firm in ft. worth, would be the fourth generation of the bush family in elected office, should he win. virginia lieutenant governor bill bolling announced yesterday that he would not run for governor as an independent. he said he has trouble breaking from the gop after a long career in politics as republican.

he did not endorse either in a statement, but did wish both of them well. get ready for the campaign of caricatures down there. up next, our deep dive into president obama's outreach, or is it lack thereof, to latin america, with the era of the cold war leaders coming to a close. where can the u.s. make inroads on issues like trade, immigration, and the drug wars? you're watching "the daily rundown," only on msnbc. [ male] need help keeping your digestive balance in sync? try align. it's the number one ge recommended probiotic that helps maintain digestive balance. ♪ stay in the groove with align. ♪ need help keeping your digestive balance in sync? try align. it's a probiotic that fortifies your digestive system with healthy bacteria 24/7. because your insides set the tone. stay in the groove with align. prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years.

[ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego.

[ female announcer ] from meeting customer needs...

to meeting patient needs... ♪ wireless is limitless. [ female announcer ] from finding the best way... ♪ to finding the best catch... ♪ wireless is limitless. the u.s. relationship with latin america has long been defined by a cold war style of politics, maybe a smattering of new economic opportunities. but are times sha s changing? a deep dive into the dynamic. for the last several decades, the biggest headlines out of latin america were generated by drugs, political instability, and the ongoing war of words between the u.s. and leaders like venezuela's hugo chavez and

cuba's castro brothers. 2008, then candidate obama criticized as what he described as outdated debates and entire blueprints that didn't meet the test of the future. as president, that meant much going on in latin america. he did try to improve economic relations by clearing the way for a new trade agreement with colombia in 2011. he did accelerate those anti-drug efforts, spending hundreds of millions to help stop drug cartels in mexico, and stop drug trafficking in guatemala and honduras. the results have been mixed. and now the nations are in latin america and latin american leaders argue it's not all their fault. they argue that guns coming out of the u.s. combine with u.s. demand for drugs help fuel the drug trade. nevertheless, much of the region's political instability has faded. and the latin american poverty rate has dropped to its lowest point in three decades. >> every day, the future is being forged by the countries

and peoples of latin america. for latin american is not the old stereotype of a region in perpetual conflict or trapped in endless cycles of poverty. the world must now recognize latin america for the dynamic and growing region that it truly is. >> but has the president himself admitted security concerns in the middle east and economic concerns here at home have helped keep the latin american agenda mostly, well, on the shelf, at least potentially, until now. the death of hugo chavez may just be the first domino to fall. fidel castro has become a shadow of his former self. and this has brother, raoul, now says he'll retire in 2014. so the possibility of a brazilian pope could put some pressure on the united states to restart their domestic issues. gun control and immigration could have a direct impact on our neighbors to the south and make them think things are changing here in the united states.

joining me now, former mexican foreign minister, jorge castaneda. he's now a nbc news latin american policy analyst. and jorge, the thing when it comes to latin america, the way the united states deals with latin america, it strikes me as how little influence the united states has. so the united states says, you know, we don't like hugo chavez, we have this trade kbargo with cuba, and the rest of latin america almost thumbs their nose at the united states and they have relations with hugo chavez. they have relations with cuba. what is the u.s. influence in latin america these days? >> well, chuck, it's certainly not what it used to be, because a lot of the larger countries like brazil, like argentina, have diversified their trade relations with china, with western europe, et cetera. it still has, of course, a lot of influence, mexico, central america, and the caribbean, but the u.s. has lost influence, partly, also, because it doesn't have an agenda with latin america, as you were saying. president obama had best intentions when he took office,

but he didn't really do a whole lot his first term. he's got a great opportunity now, as his second term begins. and as you said, partly because of hugo chavez's passing away in venezuela. >> but jorge, we've been here before. we've been here before. george w. bush was going to have a latin america focus like no other republican before. bill clinton promised this stuff. it seems a lot of presidents promise this, and then they just ignore. is there a way that latin america's growing ability, position as an economic power, particularly brazil, forces the united states, this time, to pay more attention? >> well, it's partly an economic driver of all of this, but also, what u.s. -- what we could consider u.s. domestic issues, which have enormous importance in latin america. the most important one, i think, is immigration. if there is comprehensive immigration reform in the united states, and there's some form of cooperation with sending countries, like mexico, guatemala, honduras, el

salvador, and the caribbean countries, that would have an enormous impact in part of latin america. if president obama begins to shift the u.s. policy on drugs, begins looking more at colorado and washington, and less at richard nixon's war on drugs, which is now over 40 years old and has taken nobody anywhere, that's an enormous opportunity also. >> let me stop you, you're referencing to colorado and washington, you mean by the legalization of marijuana. >> right, which is paradoxical, to say the least. on the one hand, the u.s. sends money to fight drugs in south america and in mexico. now they're allowing medical use of marijuana in the united states. so obama really does have a huge opportunity to do things, not just to make promises, as you said, on the trade side, he also can, and on gun control. very important for countries

like mexico, central american nations, that the u.s. apply its existing laws on exporting weapons, but mainly change its domestic regulations on the purchase of weapons, many of which end up in mexico and central america. >> put in perspective how popular or unpopular the u.s. position toward cuba is, with the rest of latin america? >> i think just about every country in latin america thinks that the embargo is needless, counterproductive, and obsolete. that it really makes no sense to continue with something that began in 1960, '61, under president kennedy, at the height of the cold war. the world has changed. the u.s. has changed. cuba hasn't changed very much, but at the end of the day, that's not very important either. i think most countries would think that the ideal situation would be for president obama, unilaterally, to lift the embargo and encourage different

forms of democratization in cuba, which are not happening yet, but they may begin to happen if the castro brothers no longer have the pretext of u.s. quote/unquote aggression or an embargo against them, as a pretext for the terrible economic situation that cuba le lives in. >> and is there sometimes a knee-jerk response by other latin america leaders, that if the united states is against somebody, they're going to be more inclined to at least listen to them. so, for instance, the relationship between the united states and hugo chavez, and then the relationship between hugo chavez and the rest of south america? >> a little bit less so, chuck. i mean, chavez, i think, everybody wanted to be friends with him, because he has a lot of oil and a lot of money, or he had a lot of oil and a lot of money, and that's always good to have in a friend. but i don't think too many countries really paid that much attention to him. he never had the influence in latin america that fidel castro had in the '60s, '70s, and even in the '80s. so i don't think his

anti-american saber rattling won him a lot of kudos in the rest of latin america. and i think both presidents bush, second term, and obama in his first term, were very reasonable in just not paying a whole lot of attention to him, and not accepting his provocations, which were constant, and sometimes even offensive. i think both presidents managed that rather well. >> all right, jorge castaneda, an nbc news policy analyst, former official in the mexican government, thanks for being on. >> thank you, chuck. our gaggle is coming up next. but first, as mitt romney plans to speak at cpac this week, msnbc's ed schultz has an exclusive interview with the man who recorded the infamous video of romney where he disparaged 47% of americans. >> how big a decision was it for you to release the tape and to go through all of this? >> it was, it was tough, and i

debated for a little while, you know, but in the end, i really felt like it had to be put out. i felt i owed it to the people that couldn't afford to be there themselves the to hear what he really thought. >> both campaigns have said, among the most important things that happened in the fall of 2012. don't miss ed's exclusive interview tonight at 8:00 eastern only on msnbc. before i go to break, white house soup of the day. look at this one, tom kha goong soup. i don't know a lot about this soup. everyone will tweet me to tell me how stupid i am nor not knowing. ♪ doing it with a cold, just not going to happen. ♪ vicks dayquil powerful non-drowsy 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ no matter what city you're playing tomorrow. [ coughs ]

[ male announcer ] you can't let a cold keep you up tonight. ♪ vicks nyquil powerful nighttime 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ i'm here in your home, having a pretty spectacular tuesday. ♪ but i don't notice the loose rug at the top of your stairs. and that's about to become an issue for me. ♪ and if you got the wrong home insurance coverage, my medical bills could get expensive. so get allstate. [ dennis ] good hands. good home. make sure you have the right home protection. talk to an allstate agent.

make sure you have the right home protection. today is gonna be an important day for us.

you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. at a hertz expressrent kiosk, you can rent a car without a reservation... and without a line. now that's a fast car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. when senate democrats unveil their budget plan later today, both sides will have officially put out their first and worst bids on the budget. can the two sides find the

middle? 2004 bush campaign adviser and a georgetown university dean, how about that, look at that, robert traynham. from t"the new york times," jac hawaii holmes, and the president of emilm list, jackie schrock. talk about action not matching the words. both budget proposals look like they were from, as if nothing happened over the last 2 1/2 years in the budget wars. >> it is pretty astounding, especially when you consider that back in late 2011, when the super committee failed and there was really no budget action to speak of in 2012, both sides agreed, the election is going to be about letting the voters choose. well, the voters sure didn't choose paul ryan's budget, but here we have it all again. and then the democrats -- the president's going to put his budget out early next month and, again, all three of these are what their ideal is.

>> and that seems to be the pointless part of this. >> look, let's be honest. these are two political documents for two very different audiences. we know, i believe the president's budget is all about 2014 and trying to rally the base, to try to get back the house. >> that's what you think? >> i really do believe that. i think paul ryan's budget is someone who's thinking about running for president and trying to stir up the base anymore. we know that it's not going anywhere. there are certain assumptions that don't make sense, except in the landscape of a political environment. >> stephanie, you deal with grassroots, you deal with donorings, with big donors, small donors, and democratic activists. how important is it to them that they don't see compromise right away? is it important to these activists that, no, no, no, show that you're going to be tough at first. >> there's a fine line here. i want to say, these budgets are important. when you look at the ryan budget and look at the patty mourray budget, the republican budgets in the senate. these aren't just numbers and words.

these are a set of values that, they're value documents -- >> i understand that. but they're not designed to -- what are they designed to do? >> complete -- well, they're designed to lay out what the vision for that party is moving forward. and i think that's what it's done. >> and stir up the base. >> absolutely. there's definitely some, like, this is the pieces of it. but i'll tell you this, particularly with women voters, who were key. i mean, gender gap, huge in 2012, all of our polling at emily's list has shown that they are looking for some solutions here. and the solutions entail some tax increases of the wealthiest americans and not to completely balance the budget on the backs of women and families. they have made that clear in this election. they've got to find some compromises and make some cuts, but they've got to do both. >> jackie, what i'm curious about is, where are -- you know what we haven't heard from? i'm surprised, and maybe i will next week, but that there is ant gang of eight. i hear mark warner complaining

about how he doesn't get to be in the room when the deal is done. >> we don't know they're not working up to that. but they're a little sheepish, because we've had about two or three years of them working, and we're all like -- >> oh, look at this! >> the gang -- and it's like, we are, you know, the football's been -- >> right. and i think on both ends, they were burned. they were burned on the hard right and the hard left. lord knows the tea party clearly made their thoughts known about this. but to your point, chuck, where's the reality check? where are the folks in the senate that primarily will say, it's great you have this political document, but we need to have a reality check here. and the question is, who is that and when will that start? >> the moderates know what's going on right now. everybody's putting down their bid. they'll give it a little time, but we have a deadline in effect with the debt limit needing to be increased in the summer and so, you know, if they don't see

this little, you know, kabuki dance leading to something, they. it's really remarkable, though, when you look at paul ryan's budget and getting rid of obama care, it shows the difference between washington and state. >> they are living in it. >> it's almost as if the election had just happened. >> the problem is, the only way you get a balanced budget without doing taxes was to do that. >> that's right. >> stick around. we're going to talk about what the president is doing tonight, which is meeting with his political organization. trivia question, which president's only international trip was to a latin american country. two different presidents, calvin coolidge and teddy roosevelt. congratulations to our winners,

jared smith and kn. we'll be right back. ♪ [ telephone rings ] hello. [ man ] jen, there are a lot of beauty brands that want you to represent them. really, who? no. they add too much fragrance. no, they make you wear pink. are you kidding? no. nah. [ telephone rings ] no. not my style. no. [ cellphone rings ] [ man ] you might like this one. aveeno®. aveeno®. let me think about it. [ male announcer ] the beautiful jennifer aniston now for aveeno®.

you don't decide when vegetables reach the peak of perfection. the vegetables do. at green giant, we pick vegetables only when they're perfect. then freeze them fast so they're are as nutritious as fresh. [ green giant ] ho ho ho. ♪ green giant

let's bring back robert traynham, stephanie, jackie calmes. the president is starting up an organizing for action. it's to support the president's agenda. it is -- it could end up taking away resources. as somebody raising money for democratic cause, are you worried about the president spending so much money raising money on his own agenda that it takes away from what you are trying to do with elections? >> i don't. i was a fund-raiser before i was

at emily's list and the one thing that i have seen every psych g cycle is this continuing growth of americans to join into democracy. i kind of think of the democratization of fundraising where more and more people with huge amounts of money, emily's list had an unprecedented year. i think this is going to continue growing and with other new evidence -- the new -- i would rather have it coming from 50 and $100 contributions than million and ten million. i'll take that. >> i think it puts a divide between us. >> i think it's really unfortunate. >> i think it's making a bad system worse. shameless plug, jackie, let's go. >> i missed the wire back in the day so i started plowing through

it and i -- anyone who hasn't seen the wire, just go see it again. it is amazing. >> jackie calmes, 2005. anyway, stephanie? >> 2015, the year of the woman mayor. >> chris begquinn. we'll see. >> i think everybody should take a look the a george w. bush's paintings. i'm serious. >> how about that, art, sculpture. >> have you seen them? >> coming up next, chris jansing live from the vatican where they have a lot of pretty interesting paintings there, too. we'll see you tomorrow. all of that rain from yesterday is moving off the

eastern seaboard. we are going to see clearing skies in boston today. light snow showers through the lakes. we will see increasing sunshine, 53 today in boston. new york city, 54. almost 60 in washington, d.c. you get back into detroit, a couple of lighter snow showers with highs topping out around 40.